For the Touch of a Mortal
by keznik
Summary: Darcy gets hurt and Sif rescues and avenges her. Last chapter has the M rated content (femslash and tragedy).
1. Chapter 1

**For the Touch of a Mortal**

**Chapter 1 – The Blast**

Sif strode purposefully towards Darcy. Her gaze directed at Darcy's blue eyes. Sif's hips swayed with the long strides taken, pony tail bouncing side to side across her back. The scarlet and gold tunic hugged the warrior's form and widened out at the hips. Tight leather trousers making a faint swooshing sound with each step and silver armour shining in the sunlight.

Darcy was mesmerised by the shield maiden. Her eyes took in every detail of this magnificent god.

"Darcy! Answer me, are you alright?" Sif spoke with anguish.

Darcy was shocked to find that Sif was suddenly shaking her by the arms and looking at her face intently. She hadn't heard her, she couldn't hear much at all.

"The blast…..I…I…I think I'm ok" Darcy stammered realising that her knees were weak and her vision was going dark at the edges. She pulled Sif closer allowing her to support her weakening body and looked up into the taller woman's searching hazel eyes and leaned in further, her body feeling heavy.

"Sif, please….."

Darcy lost consciousness, her weight sliding into Sif who was expecting the fall. The god picked up her legs and carried her carefully to a nearby bench.

* * *

The blast from the Destroyer's fiery beam detonated a car opposite Darcy as she ran to the Diner for cover. The shockwave had knocked her flying and she had been forced onto her back, her head catching the kerb. Sif had seen Darcy recover quickly, standing back up and brushing down her clothes. As she looked back to the origin of the blast she caught sight of the reason behind the explosion. Darcy found herself gaping up at the mechanical giant and she froze, her fear paralysing her body.

Sif marched towards her taking in her blank features. Volstagg and Hogun had seen that Sif was aiming for Darcy and distracted the Destroyer over towards them so that Sif could get her to safety.

Sif was a few paces away when she realised that Darcy was watching her.

"Well at least you are focusing on something again Lady Darcy" she shouted out towards the frozen girl. Sif smiled towards Darcy expecting her humour to be reflected. But nothing, no change to her expression at all.

"Darcy?" Another step forward. Sif's eyes narrowed with apprehension.

As she reached Darcy she grabbed both her upper arms with a strong grip and shook Darcy. "Darcy? Can you hear me?" Sif was concerned now. Her watching Sif just a few seconds ago must have been an illusion.

"Darcy! Answer me, are you alright?" She searched the Midgardian's blue eyes for any sign of acknowledgement. Sif noticed how wide her eyes were and the beauty and depth of the shade.

Darcy's long chocolate hair was tangled and Sif brushed a strand from her face. The lock of hair was stuck to her lip and Sif realised she was bleeding. Her full lips were red with blood from the nasty split on her top lip and many deep scratches adorned Darcy's smooth porcelain features.

"The blast…..I…I…I think I'm ok" Darcy stuttered and leaned into Sif. Her weight was gradually increasing and Sif knew Darcy was ailing and would probably pass out very soon. She helped Darcy lean into her and their upper bodies were pressed together.

Sif desperately ignored the unexpected yearning in the pit of her stomach. Now is not the time, she scolded herself. Darcy felt so helpless in her arms, so beautiful and soft. The warrior knew that Darcy needed her, she must keep a level head.

"Sif, please…" Darcy whispered and Sif looked deeply into her eyes, mesmerised by the closeness of their faces, the heat of their skin so close together, the breath against her cheek, as she saw Darcy's engaged eyes fade.

Panic threatened Sif's resolve but as a seasoned champion she let her instincts take over. She pushed her arm around Darcy's back and reached down to pick up her legs and carried her to the nearest safe bench away from the destruction.

She placed the young girl carefully down onto the hard wooden bench. She leant close to Darcy's face to ensure that her breathing was regular and caught the sleeping girls scent. She smelt of blood, fire, explosives and sweat, but underneath, lingered a beautiful floral fragrance. Sif smoothed the hair away from her face and on impulse, kissed Darcy's forehead tenderly. Sif couldn't believe how stunning the brunette was, regardless of the cuts and bruises.

Sif straightened up and took stock of the situation. She spotted a fretting Jane in the Diner where Darcy had been heading, and waved for her attention.

Seated at the window, Jane had seen Sif place Darcy reverently onto the bench. As soon as Sif waved for her, Jane ran to Darcy's side and immediately started to fuss over her friend, stroking her hair. It was then Jane's hand came up to Sif's view and it was covered in blood.

'It is clear Lady Darcy requires immediate medical assistance. The head wound may be problematic'

'Thank you' Jane whispered briefly looking up to Sif before covering Darcy with her jacket and beckoning Erik to come over too.

Sif acknowledge Jane's thanks and was grateful that Darcy would be looked after. She inwardly calmed herself and drawing her sword she evaluated where the other Warriors were, and where the next tactical spot for the ongoing defence strategy should be.

In a split second she charged towards a car, jumped onto its bonnet and up to its roof and finally up into a low balcony leading to a flat roof. She spotted the Destroyer below her walking towards Volstagg. The shield maiden jumped and pressed a lever on her sword that unlocked the second blade. Aiming her weapon into the neck of the beast, she let out a warriors cry.

* * *

Authors Note - I own nothing Marvel owns everything... Please review and thank you for reading.


	2. Chapter 2 - The Hospital

Chapter 2 – The Hospital

Darcy awoke in a Hospital in Albuquerque. Her eyelids were heavy and it was difficult to focus on her room. She saw a fuzzy image of a face crowned with raven hair to her right. Her stomach butterflied as she fleetingly hoped it was Sif. She could also hear voices murmuring around her.

A nurse was checking her blood pressure and quickly flashed a small torch in her eyes. Once the machined bleeped, she undid the cuff and left the room quietly.

"Lady Darcy, we are so glad you have awoken"

The voice was deeper and more booming than she expected. Sif had a light voice….

"Oh Darcy, you had me worried, how are you feeling?"

Jane's voice! Darcy smiled and tried to sit up. A strong arm snaked around her back from her left and supported her as the bed was raised to a seated position and she heard pillows being plumped and placed behind her. The same strong arms gently eased her back and she looked in the direction of the owner. A big smile framed with dirty blond whiskers greeted her.

"Thor!" she croaked. "Can someone please pass over my glasses?"

Sif recovered the black rimmed spectacles from the bed side table and placed them in Darcy's waiting hands, gently wrapping her fingers around Darcy's before letting go. Darcy felt the touch ignite a nervous excitement in her core and she shyly smiled in the warrior's direction.

Darcy placed the glasses on the bridge of her nose. As the room came into focus, she was overwhelmed by the grins on the faces of her friends, old and new.

"Oh come on guys. What's all the fuss about? Have you never seen a geek in a hospital bed before?" Darcy was feeling close to crying and with a knee jerk reaction turned on the sass in her voice to diffuse the mush in the room. Crying in front of everyone was not the Darcy they knew and evidently cared about.

Thor reached forward and wrapped his huge arms around her in a bear hug, plainly over the moon with her being awake.

"Careful there slugger! I'm still rather sore you know." She clipped through gritted teeth as she felt as if her ribs were breaking further. She breathed in raggedly after he let go and motioned for Jane to come and sit next to her.

Jane pushed past Thor who guiltily moved back to the wall of the room and sat with a tired looking Erik.

Darcy's boss kissed her cheek and gave her a light hug and whispered in her ear, "I'm so glad you have woken up, we were getting concerned. You've been out of it for most of the day!"

Darcy pushed her back so that she could see her face, "No shit?" she questioned. Jane nodded and went on to explain the head injury she had sustained and how Lady Sif and the Warriors Three had valiantly distracted the Destroyer so that Sif could get her to safety.

Darcy turned to her right and was greeted by the warmest smile she had ever seen. Sif's eyes seemed to light up when it was her turn to talk to Darcy.

"Thank you, Sif" Darcy spoke tenderly holding up her arms motioning to hold her saviour, but Sif visually tensed causing Darcy to hesitate. She lowered her offered thanks, the awkwardness making her feel uncomfortable. She considered Sif's clear blue eyes. The elder woman appeared nervous and had rapidly moved her gaze to her hands, rubbing them together in her lap.

The Midgardian placed her right hand, palm up, at the edge of her bed in front of Sif and subtly coughed. The raven haired warrior looked back up at Darcy who nodded towards her outstretched hand. The edges of Sif's mouth slowly raised into a smile and she timidly placed her larger calloused hand in the young woman's small soft grip. They shared a lingering look between them that didn't go unnoticed with the rest of the group as they both tightened their grasp on the other as they relaxed into the physical contact.

The room was silent for a few seconds before there was a rapping at the door and a man in a white coat strode in.

"I'm Doctor Petersson, I need to have a word with Darcy please" he addressed the room with a smooth authoritative tone. The middle aged man was tall and confident. He left the door open beside him obviously expecting the visitors to leave.

"Can one person stay with me please?" Darcy requested meekly looking up the clinicians cool grey eyes.

"Just one" agreed Doctor Petersson. Darcy looked to Sif and squeezed her hand gently. Sif enclosed Darcy's shaking fist with both hands hoping to restrain the nerves in the brunette. A silent agreement to look after her was made between them whilst Jane and Thor exchanged a perceptive look. They ushered out a grumbling Erik from the room, all somewhat relieved to get away from the palpable tension of the attraction between the dark haired girls.

Unaffected, Doctor Petersson drew up a chair and sat down placing his hands together in his lap. He acknowledged Sif's presence and then turned his full attention to Darcy.

"During the blast you sustained a mild traumatic head injury which rendered you unconscious. As you were out for over 30 minutes we performed a CT of your head, where we ascertained that although there was bruising there was nothing untoward, no bleeding. After your scan and tests, you were given some pain medication and were left to rest where you obviously fell asleep. As you were quite responsive after you were checked in we did not think it a problem to let you sleep."

Darcy briefly recalled having to lay still for the CT machine but the stress of seeing a metal fire breathing monster had drained her considerably. She had fallen asleep soon after the nurses had done their extra tests on her.

"I see no reason not to check you out later today if you are feeling well, but I need you to schedule an appointment with your local Doctor for 2 days' time for a check-up on your concussion. I will however, insist that you have a friend stay with you for 48 hours and to rest for at least three weeks. If you feel foggy, have increasing headaches, vomiting or sleep disturbances then please return here immediately for treatment."

Darcy nodded in understanding and gripped Sif's hands excitedly.

"So, I can go home then Doc?" Darcy asked happily as the Doctor got up from the chair and stood next to the door. He nodded and left the room.

"That is wonderful news, Lady Darcy!"

"Oh it is, I don't like Hospitals and I would prefer to be wearing something more flattering than this." Her head nodded down to her functional blue nightgown.

"Your gown is sweet and elegant, just like you"

Darcy blushed and looked away but made no attempt to remove her hands. She felt comforted by Sif's touch and didn't want to let her go.

"Apologies my Lady, for making you feel embarrassed."

"It's ok Sif, you probably don't know that these have a big split down the back that shows off your butt if you aren't careful" Darcy teased a smile from Sif and chuckled.

"That I wouldn't mind seeing!" Sif's smile growing as she winked at Darcy. "But for now my Lady, I must see Thor and re-arrange the journey home, so that I can stay with you for the prescribed amount of time your healer stipulated upon." The blue eyed warrior placed Darcy's hands back to her abdomen, giving them a light squeeze before letting go and placed her soft lips against the young brunette's bandaged forehead. She stood up, the chair squealing as it pushed backwards breaking the building tension in the room. Sif exited the room swiftly, beaming as she closed the clinic door.

Darcy felt her stomach flip. Did Sif just make a blatant pass at her? Why would a stunning warrior goddess make a pass at a bespectacled political science student like her? Why would she do that when she is leaving soon anyway? Her stomach knotted up and she was reeling. Darcy was aware that she liked Sif, certainly admired her. Did Sif return the attraction? She had openly declared that she was changing her travel plans to babysit her!

Darcy imagined Sif leaning in towards her and what it would be like to touch her lips with her own. The image didn't unnerve her at all in fact she was starting to feel rather aroused.

"Oh my, two whole days spent with a drop dead gorgeous woman who's into me, what will we do to occupy the time?"

* * *

Sif was leaning on the other side of the Hospital door berating herself for such a suggestive comment.

"You are not usually this forward especially with someone of her race…."

Sif had never found herself attracted to a mortal before but this one was so high-spirited and her curves were glorious.

Her fingers ghosted over her armoured chest at the thought of Darcy's small soft hands upon her and imagined them tracing her own curves. Her breath hitched, skin flushing with unexpected desire.

"Lady Sif! I had thought better of you than to shame yourself in this manner!

Thor's booming tone exploded through Sif's day dreaming, breaking it into a thousand shards as Sif stood upright facing her Commander, cheeks reddening to a dark hue.

"I'm sorry my Prince"

Sif dropped to one knee before him crest fallen that she wasn't allowed her chance at a mortal lover.

"Follow me"

Thor turned on his heel and briskly marched down the stark hallway until he reached a quiet alcove. Pulling Sif towards him he pushed his mouth to her ear and whispered fiercely. "You touched yourself in public Sif! You have brought shame upon yourself and your family! What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I'm so sorry my liege, I did not realise what I was doing. I was overcome with desire. It has been so long since I have been affected by someone… by anyone! I yearn for the mortal and I wish to care for her".

A single tear fell from her watery blue eyes as she looked up to Thor's icy gaze, and watched his features slowly soften.

"Oh my Lady, my dear friend. I had not meant to cause you to weep. It would be best however, if you restrained yourself in public!"

Thor's rugged face erupted into a bright wide grin as he lifted his chin and laughed. Lightly punching her arm he led the way out of the Hospital teasing her as they walked, whilst listening to Sif's re-telling of the healer's words and commands.

* * *

As always, Marvel owns everything, I own nothing.

Please review


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